If presented with a choice, Goose and Maverick would undoubtedly choose a 240Hz Full HD 1080p display over a 4K resolution OLED panel—they have a need for speed, after all. Whether you would too is something you'll have to decide if shopping Razer's refreshed Blade 15 laptop.
Alternatively, you can stick with the base option, which is still a 144Hz 1080p display. The faster refresh rate and 4K OLED upgrades are new options that comprise the 'Advanced' models of the Blade 15 lineup.
The Advanced SKUs also boast a 9th generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor clocked at 2.6GHz to 4.5GHz, alongside one of three GeForce RTX GPUs: RTX 2060, 2070, and 2080.
It's not clear exactly how many models will be available when the refreshed options go live tomorrow. As of this writing, here are the available options, all of which sport a previous generation Core i7-8750H processor:
- Full HD 60Hz, GTX 1060, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD: $1,599.99
- Full HD 144Hz, RTX 2060, 512GB SSD: $2,199.99
- Full HD 144Hz, RTX 2070, 256GB SSD: $2,299.99
- Full HD 144Hz, RTX 2070, 512GB SSD: $2,399.99
- Full HD 144Hz, RTX 2080, 512GB SSD: $2,999.99
- 4K 60Hz OLED, RTX 2070, 512GB SSD: $2,899.99
According to Razer's announcement, the base model is getting bumped up to $1,999, while the Advanced models will start at $2,399 for the 1080p 240Hz option, and $3,299 for the 4K OLED variant. All of them will feature the faster Core i7-9750H processor, while the Advanced models will also get a boost to Wi-Fi-6 connectivity.
We suspect the refreshed options will still come with 16GB of DDR4-2667 memory, though there's no mention in the announcement of how the storage allotment will break down. However, as far as aesthetics are concerned, Razer will also offer the Advanced model in 'mercury white.'
Interestingly, our friends at TomsHardware say the base model will still sport USB 3.1 ports, but that the Advanced SKUs will have faster USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.
All of the new models will be available to purchase tomorrow, April 24, in the US and Canada, followed by launches in other territories sometime next month.
Razer also retooled its Blade 17 Pro laptop. For one, it's physically smaller than the previous version, which is now two years old. It still wields a 17.3-inch display (1080p, 144Hz), but according to Razer's measurements, it's up to 25 percent smaller than competing 17-inch gaming notebooks in its class.
Beyond the smaller size, the Blade 17 Pro has been injected with the same Core i7-9750H processor as its smaller Blade 15 sibling, along with a choice of GeForce RTX 2060, RTX 2070 with Max-Q design, or RTX 2080 with Max-Q design (only the RTX 2060 options lacks Nvidia's Max-Q designation).
Every model comes standard with 16GB of DDR4-2667 memory and a 512GB PCIe SSD, both of which are upgradeable—up to 64GB of RAM and up to a 2TB SSD.
Connectivity on the Blade Pro 17 consists of three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports (one of which doubles as a Thunderbolt 3 port), HDMI 2.0b output, a Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet port, nad a USH-III SD card reader. On the wireless side, it ships with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
The Blade Pro 17 will be available in May in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and China starting at $2,499 (€2,699).
